US OCC grants conditional banking license approval to Bastion

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has granted Bastion Platforms Trust Company a conditional approval to convert its New York state trust charter into a national trust bank charter. The decision, issued on September 18, makes Bastion one of a small but growing cohort of digital asset firms operating under direct federal banking oversight.

The new charter, designated OCC Charter #27198, will allow the company to operate as Bastion Platforms National Trust Company. It’s a meaningful upgrade from the state-level trust license the firm has been running on, essentially giving Bastion a single federal key instead of needing to collect different keys for every state it wants to operate in.

What Bastion can (and can’t) do

The OCC’s authorization covers a specific set of services tailored to stablecoin infrastructure. That includes fiduciary custody, white-label stablecoin issuance, wallet solutions, payments, minting, redemption, and fiat conversions involving compliant digital assets like USDC.

What the charter does not include is equally important. Bastion won’t be taking deposits, and it won’t carry FDIC insurance.

CEO Nassim Eddequiouaq has framed the federal charter as a tool for serving major financial players looking to launch stablecoin-related products.

From a16z alumni to national bank charter in three years

Bastion was founded in 2023 by two former executives from Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm. The company moved quickly to establish its regulatory footing, acquiring a New York limited-purpose trust charter in February 2025 through the purchase of Dibbs Trust Company. It has since accumulated various state money transmitter licenses.

The firm raised $14.6 million in a funding round backed by a notable cross-section of strategic investors: Coinbase Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund, and Samsung Next.

That Sony connection has already produced tangible results. Bastion has a partnership with Sony Bank for stablecoin services.

A bigger pattern at the OCC

Bastion wasn’t the only firm to receive good news from the OCC on September 18. The regulator also authorized conditional trust charters for Catena and Agora on the same day.

By granting these charters, the OCC is essentially saying that stablecoin infrastructure firms belong inside the regulatory perimeter, not outside it. That’s a philosophical shift with practical consequences for every company operating in this space.

For Bastion specifically, the national charter eliminates a patchwork problem. Instead of navigating dozens of state-level regulatory regimes, each with its own requirements and timelines, the company can now operate under a single federal framework.

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